Senior Social Worker

Veterans Health Administration • Hinesville, GA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP), a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific individual eligibility requirements in accordance with VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval, award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after complete review of the EDRP application. The advanced practice social worker has the ability to expand clinical knowledge in the profession, provide consultation and guidance to colleagues, role model effective social work practice skills, teach or provide orientation to less experienced social workers, develop innovations in practice interventions, and provide clinical supervision for social work licensure or certification. Senior Social Worker practices social work in the Mental Health Service Line at one of the facility's Community Based Outpatient Clinics. He/she has responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns. He/she is assigned to work with the mental health patient population with high complex mental health conditions. The incumbent independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening complex patients for psychosocial needs. Incumbent must possess the knowledge and ability to independently implement treatment modalities, provide counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups. Incumbent independently conducts psychosocial assessments. Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team. Incumbent possesses the skills to offer psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions. Incumbent is able to take initiative to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs. Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides appropriate and comprehensive services. Incumbent provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint, coordinates family conferences, and serves as liaison to family members. Incumbent possesses and uses working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, this includes acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology. This knowledge and experience are shared while working collaboratively with multidisciplinary treatment plans. Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families while handling conflict and challenges in working with the customer constructively and appropriately. Incumbent is able to independently work with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills. Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan. Ability to evaluate incumbents' own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means. Incumbent is able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds. Will perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Master's degree in social work from a school of social work fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
• Must be licensed or certified by a state to independently practice social work at the master's degree level.
• Must actively pursue meeting state prerequisites for licensure or certification starting from the date of their appointment.
• Must maintain a full, valid, and unrestricted independent license or certification.
• At least two years of experience (post advanced practice clinical licensure) in a specialized area of social work practice, with one year equivalent to the GS-11 grade level.
• Must be licensed or certified by a state at the advanced practice level which included an advanced generalist or clinical examination (unless grandfathered by the state), and must be able to provide supervision for licensure.
• Skill in a range of specialized interventions and treatment modalities used in specialty treatment programs or with special patient populations, including individual, group, and/or family counseling or psychotherapy and advanced level psychosocial and/or case management.
• Ability to incorporate complex multiple causation in differential diagnosis and treatment within approved clinical privileges or scope of practice.
• Knowledge in developing and implementing methods for measuring effectiveness of social work practice and services in the specialty area, utilizing outcome evaluations to improve treatment services and to design system changes.
• Ability to provide specialized consultation to colleagues and students on the psychosocial treatment of patients in the service delivery area, as well as role modeling effective social work practice skills.
• Ability to expand clinical knowledge in the social work profession, and to write policies, procedures, and/or practice guidelines pertaining to the service delivery area.
• Experience and/or certification in evidence-based psychotherapies or the skills and abilities to learn advanced evidenced based psychotherapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Couples/Family Therapy, and Group Therapy.

Nice To Haves

• Former EDRP participants ineligible to apply for incentive.

Responsibilities

• Practices social work in the Mental Health Service Line at one of the facility's Community Based Outpatient Clinics.
• Has responsibility for clinical program development and is accountable for clinical program effectiveness and modification of service patterns.
• Works with the mental health patient population with high complex mental health conditions.
• Independently performs case finding functions and outreach, identifying and screening complex patients for psychosocial needs.
• Independently implements treatment modalities, provides counseling or psychotherapy for individuals, families, and groups.
• Independently conducts psychosocial assessments.
• Develops treatment plans in collaboration with the Veteran/family and with the interdisciplinary treatment team.
• Offers psychosocial interventions and measures outcomes to interventions.
• Takes initiative to coordinate community-based services, including information and referral for additional services from other VA programs, other government programs and community agency programs.
• Independently identifies high-risk patients and provides appropriate and comprehensive services.
• Provides crisis intervention services, seeking to address the cause as well as the presenting complaint.
• Coordinates family conferences.
• Serves as liaison to family members.
• Uses working knowledge and experience in use of medical and mental health diagnoses, disabilities, and treatment procedures, including acute, chronic and traumatic illnesses/injuries, common medications and their effects/side effects, and medical terminology.
• Works collaboratively with multidisciplinary treatment plans.
• Establishes and maintains effective therapeutic relationships with Veterans and their families while handling conflict and challenges in working with the customer constructively and appropriately.
• Independently works with patients and families who are experiencing a variety of psychiatric, medical and social problems utilizing individual, group and family counseling and therapy skills.
• Independently provides consultation services to other staff regarding the psychosocial needs of Veterans and the impact of psychosocial problems on health care and adherence to treatment plan.
• Evaluates own practice through professional peer review, case conferences and other organizational means.
• Communicates effectively, both orally and in writing, with people from varied backgrounds.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP)
• Competitive salary and regular salary increases
• 37-50 days of annual paid time off per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
• Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
• Child care subsidy
• Traditional federal pension
• Federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
• Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care insurance
• Telework eligibility

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior